We often forget to take time to understand how to care for our gut health so VITAGEN has taken the initiative to share its expertise and knowledge directly with Malaysians with its new Digestive Health On-Wheels education initiative.
The Digestive Health On-Wheels education initiative features a truck fitted out with educational information on probiotics – Lactobacillus acidophilus & Lactobacillus paracasei – which are the ‘good’ bacteria’ that provide us with various digestive health benefits when consumed in sufficient amounts.
It will also be accompanied by gastroenterology nurses and nutritionists to provide members of the public with an analysis of their gut health and advice on how to improve it.
At the 30 locations it will go, the public will be able to get their digestive health screenings from nutritionists, receive counselling and stool-test kits from gastroenterology nurses and learn how to stay fit by fitness consultant.
The truck will also showcase the findings of the Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM) study as well as have interactive digestive health games, product sampling and products for sale on promotion.
“The VITAGEN Digestive Health On-Wheels is the first-of-its-kind mobile digestive health initiative created to educate consumers in a more creative and engaging manner. As the gut health leader in Malaysia, VITAGEN is doing this to create awareness about the importance of probiotics for a healthy gut which is essential for overall health as the recent study by latest findings by PPUKM have confirmed,” said General Manager of VITAGEN Mr. Poh Eng Lip.
“With more and more studies identifying the gut as our second brain, it is important for people to realise that the gut is critical to overall wellbeing and knowing how to care for it helps to alleviate many health problems. As the gut health leader in Malaysia, VITAGEN is committed to promoting the importance of a healthy gut,” added Poh.
“A simple way to achieve a healthy gut to boost immunity, mental clarity and even our mood is the regular consumption of probiotics in the form of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus paracasei.”
The PPUKM clinical research – led by Consultant Gastroenterologist, Associate Professor in Medicine, Head, Gastroenterology Unit, Dept of Medicine, Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, YM Associate Professor Dr. Raja Affendi Raja Ali – has shown that the Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus paracasei probiotic strains in VITAGEN have a positive impact on gut health and immune system as about 70-80% of the immune system is found in the gut.
The study showed that 96% of respondents had improvement in constipation symptoms while 45% of respondents required a shorter toilet time.
It also showed that by consuming the probiotics contained in VITAGEN, the body produces less pro-inflammatory chemicals which reduces inflammation and enhances the immune system and that 73% of respondents with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) benefited from enhanced immunity.
This is because the probiotics help the body to produce less pro-inflammatory chemicals, which reduces inflammation and enhances the immune system.
The billions of live probiotic cultures in VITAGEN are formulated to survive the journey through the gastrointestinal tract to help preserve the balance of good and bad bacteria. Once inside, they help with better digestion and a stronger immune system for a healthier gut, as well as to boost the body’s immunity to fight off diseases.
The immune system is designed to fight invading viruses, bacteria and other microbes while leaving healthy tissues alone and 70 per cent of our immunity defence lies in the gut.
Mental clarity is also affected by gut health as there is an internal complex ecosystem of bacteria located within the body called microbiome that regulate feelings and thought by communicating signals between the digestive tract and brain via the vagus nerve.
Numerous on-going studies have shown that the microfauna in the intestines play a major role in affecting our state of mind. So it is also important to keep the bacterial ecosystem in the gut balanced to assist in promoting better mental clarity.
When it comes to feeling good, 95 per cent of Serotonin – the chemical that contributes to emotional health, wellbeing and happiness among other things – is housed in the gut, where the probiotics there act as neurotransmitters to trigger the ‘feel good’ emotions.
“We are looking forward to more findings that further strengthen the understanding that the gut is critical to overall wellbeing and knowing how to take care of it will help alleviate many health problems. As the gut health leader in Malaysia, VITAGEN will continue to educate and remind everyone to be good to their gut for better quality of life,” said Poh.